Fish(er) Tales

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! These posts will give you a better idea about what this site is about. Start here, then go here, and here, and then here.If you’re like me, you look forward to the latest TED talks and their “ideas worth spreading.” The problem is there are so many of them. Who has the time to watch and ponder every...

Hey! Find out how rich you are compared to the rest of the world. How rich are you? Of course more than half of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day, so don’t go feeling too good about yourself. Or better still, just a few mouse clicks can do some good right now. Start by clicking this. Originally posted 2010-05-19 19:49:43.

I just received this incredible news in my e-mail box. I’m so excited that I’m reproducing the entire e-mail right below: Dear Internet/Web User: Your email is among the seven lucky winners that won (One Million Euros)EUR 1,000,000.00 each in the just concluded (22nd of May, 2010) draw held to promote dayzers lottery, Sponsored by COCA-COLA international Nederlands,(Claim deadline, 30th...

Uh-oh. There’s an audio problem. Now what? When you are right in the heat of recording – whether in the friendly confines of the studio or on-location, some critical piece of gear is bound to fail at the most inopportune moment. A mic may stop working, the mixer may hiccup, the recorder may have issues, et al. It’s oh-so-easy to get flustered when several people are staring you down as you...

If you don’t know who Gary Rydstrom is, then you don’t know an awful lot about film sound. You can read a bit about him and his work on Mix, too. I ran across this quote from him recently and thought it should be shared. Sound effects editing and sound design to me is a lot like knitting. And sometimes I think that it’s like quilting. Or sometimes I even think that it’s like...

I love inspirational quotes. Even with their economy of words, they often provide more insight and truth than longer tomes. I’m always on the lookout for pithy lines and here are some of my favorites from this past year. Let them guide you in the days and years ahead: The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. –...

What are the keys to survival as a creative audio professional? Here’s a handy list: Live the life of a consummate artist Prepare yourself for the demands of business Write down your goals Research your market and your competition carefully and make a plan Practice your skills, both audio and business skills Be confident in your abilities Education is a precondition to survival in America today....

I could write a whole book about recording audio in the field for film/video/TV/etc. But if I had to summarize briefly, it would be to keep these tips in mind: Dialog rules. Focus on getting the best dialog recordings you can. You can worry about all the other sounds later. Get closer. Move your mic to be as close to the talent as possible. This will give you a strong Signal and a quieter Noise level....